Washington DC [US], March 30 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) said Cuba will collapse soon as he termed the Caribbean island nation a “mess.”
Trump, in his gaggle with the press on Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, said it doesn’t bother him if countries are sending aid to Cuba while pointing out that his administration will extend a helping hand to Cuban-Americans who were forced out of Cuba under the regime of Fidel Castro, who led the country from 1959 to 2008.
“Yeah, Cuba’s going to be next. Cuba’s going to be. Cuba’s a mess. It’s a failing country, and they’re going to be next. Within a short period of time, it’s going to fail, and we will be there to help it out. We’ll be there to help our great Cuban-Americans out who were thrown out of Cuba. In many cases, their family members were mutilated and killed by Castro. Yeah, Cuba’s going to be next, yeah,” Trump said.
Asked about reports the US would allow a Russian oil tanker to go to Cuba, Trump said, “Well, we have a tanker out there. We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need… they have to survive. Who would… it doesn’t bother me. Well, I would say I told them if a country wants to send some oil to Cuba right now, I have no problem with it.”
On whether Moscow sending oil might help Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said, “It doesn’t help him (Putin). He loses one boatload of oil, that’s all it is, it’s fine. If he wants to do that and if other countries want to do it, it doesn’t bother me much. It’s not going to have an impact. Cuba’s finished, they have a bad regime, they have very bad and corrupt leadership, and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter. I’d prefer letting it in, whether it’s Russia or anybody else, because the people need heat and cooling and all of the other things that you need. Go ahead.”
Meanwhile, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said former Cuban President Raúl Castro is involved in talks between the island and the United States, describing the discussions as in early stages amid nationwide blackouts the government blamed on an oil blockade implemented by Trump, according to Al Jazeera.
The New York Times reported, citing a US official, that the United States Coast Guard is allowing a Russian tanker carrying crude oil to proceed toward Cuba, potentially easing the island’s worsening fuel crisis. The tanker, reportedly owned by the Russian government, was carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude and was located just miles from Cuban territorial waters on Sunday evening, per ship-tracking data. At its current speed, the vessel was expected to arrive at the port of Matanzas by Monday night. (ANI)
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